Researchers have found just short of 2 pounds of kind bud in a tomb in China’s Xinjiang province. The cannabis has been carbon dated and is 2,700 years old.

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour.

This is the earliest weed found in good enough condition and enough quantities to test thoroughly, and it’s also the earliest researchers can confirm was used for its psychotropic properties rather than for more practical hempen usages.

Out of the 500 Gushi tombs, only two have marijuana in them, so either it was exclusively the domain of shamans or administered under their supervision.

There were no smoking implements in the tomb, so researchers could not determine whether the marjuana was ingested or smoked in some other way.

My theory: ancient Chinese apple bong.

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